Notification of Sitka Privacy Breach

As we take our patrons’ privacy very seriously, we want to inform you of a brief minor security breach incident that occurred on April 19 to our library operating system, SITKA. On April 25, 2024, the BC Library Cooperative, which manages our library catalogue system 
(SITKA), notified us that they had experienced a privacy breach. Log files on their servers were obtained that contained the email addresses and phone numbers of patrons who had received automated notifications from the library system (i.e., checkout notices, overdue notices, hold notifications) between March 27 and April 19. 

Only the email addresses of people who received notifications (or the phone number of people who received SMS notifications) were leaked. As the Whistler Public Library does not use SMS notifications, patron phone numbers were not leaked in this breach. The content of the notifications was NOT leaked. The leaked data does not say what the notifications were about, and it does NOT reveal any other information about patrons or their library use, such as checkouts and holds. The BC Library Cooperative regrets this happened and are working with the software provider to ensure this issue is resolved and does not occur again. 

It is our understanding that the most likely risk from this information leaking is it being used to generate spam or phishing messages. In addition, it may increase the likelihood of spear phishing messages – messages pretending to be from a person or system you are known to communicate with. Please know that the library will NEVER ask you for your password nor any other sensitive email like social insurance or banking information, nor ask for funds from you. 

If you receive any message that appears to be from the library but is asking for any of these things, do not hesitate to follow up by calling us directly at 604-935-8435 if you are at all unsure of its truthfulness. 

Please contact our Library Director, Mikale Fenton (mfenton@whistlerlibrary.ca) or the RMOW Corporate officer, Pauline Lysaght (plysaght@whistler.ca) if you have any concerns or if you have experienced any problematic communication.